Flanagan cruises to victory

At the USA Track & Field Cross Country National Champions in San Diego, Shalane Flanagan placed first in the Open Women 8Km race.

At the USA Track & Field Cross Country National Champions in San Diego, Shalane Flanagan placed first in the Open Women 8Km race. (Nelvin C. Cepeda)

One kilometer into the USA Cross Country Championships women’s 8K race Saturday, with Shalane Flanagan providing the field with a fading view of her back, Molly Huddle made a tactical decision.

“The race was for second,” Huddle said.

“I didn’t know that,” insisted Flanagan. “I always run scared.”

In this case, scared is good. Make that great. Flanagan, who has supplanted Deena Kastor as America’s best female distance runner, cruised to victory in the 4.97-mile race at Mission Bay Park in 25 minutes, 47 seconds to capture her fifth national cross country title. Huddle achieved her goal, finishing second in 26:31.

In the men’s 12K, unheralded Brent Vaughn pulled off an upset, covering the 7.42-mile grass layout in 35 minutes, 46 seconds. Andrew Bumbalough took second in 35:52.

The gold star on Flanagan’s résumé is her bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics in the 10,000 meters. Stepping up to the marathon, Flanagan, 29, spent the majority of 2010 prepping for her 26.2-mile debut last November at New York.

Finishing second, it was a rousing success.

The question surrounding Flanagan along Mission Bay was this: Would all that long mileage zap her of some speed?

Obviously not. Halfway through the race, Flanagan’s lead was 31 seconds. At certain stages on the rolling, 2-kilometer course, the field completely lost sight of Flanagan.

While Flanagan admits that her long-term future is at the marathon (she’s America’s best hope at the distance for the London Games), the training limits racing. Missing last summer’s track season to prepare for New York frustrated Flanagan.

“I’ve been in hibernation with the marathon,” she said. “Training’s fun, but the whole point is to race.” Flanagan plans to race plenty in 2011, everything from the 1,500 to the 10,000. (She won’t race her next marathon until the U.S. Olympic Trials in January.) She plans to chase American records, particularly the 5,000. Flanagan held the American record in both the 5,000 and 10,000 until Huddle ran the 5,000 in 14:44.76 last August, breaking Flanagan’s mark by .04 of a second.

Vaughn’s victory was an uplifting one. When he was nine months old, he suffered burns on 70 percent of his body in a bathtub accident. Burn marks still cover the bulk of his body.

“I was given a 50-50 chance to live,” said Vaughn, 26, who lives in Black Hawk, Colo. “The Lord blessed me with a second opportunity at life. I feel blessed with some ability to run. I’m just going out trying to honor him the best I can.”

Until Saturday, the highlight of Vaughn’s career was a second-place finish at the 2008 Stanford Invitational to Bernard Lagat. Lagat owns two Olympic and five world outdoor championship medals.

More often, Vaughn has suffered disappointment, like eight days ago when he dropped out of the Houston Half Marathon after eight miles.

“The second I stepped off (the course at Houston), I was thinking, ‘I’m going to find a job. I’m done running. This is the worst moment in my life.’ (A coach) taught me, you get to that line, you finish, no matter what. I felt bad for everyone who coached me. I feel like I let them down.”

On Saturday, he broke away just after 6 kilometers and beat a long list of runners with loftier credentials. His reward: the $2,000 winner’s payday, but more significantly, the opportunity to wear a USA singlet at next month’s World Cross Country Championships in Spain.

“To put on that USA jersey for the first time, to represent my country, that’s gonna to be great,” Vaughn said. “I’m gonna have a hard time sleeping tonight.”